澳大利亚昆士兰州一所学校的校长近日在写给家长的一封信中表示，该校13岁以下学生必须尽快删除Facebook帐号，如若不然，该学生将会被开除。Facebook规定用户必须年满13岁。这位校长在信中说，Facebook上有很多欺凌该校学生或者诋毁学校和老师的内容，所以学校决定出面干涉。信中还附有指导家长举报孩子违规使用Facebook以及注销帐号的内容。昆士兰州的教育官员对此举表示支持，称如果学生违规使用科技产品，学校领导应该出面进行监管。同时也有律师质疑学校是否有权力发布这样的禁令。

An Australian school head teacher has warned parents she will expel students under 13 who do not delete their Facebook accounts.

An Australian school head teacher has warned parents she will expel students under 13 who do not delete their Facebook accounts.

The threat, an attempt to curb widespread cyber bullying, was issued in a letter to parents by Leonie Hultgren, the principal of Harlaxton State School in Queensland.

“There has been some considerable Facebook traffic that either bullies a child of this school or in some cases denigrates some staff and the school,” she wrote. “Either of these circumstances warrant the school becoming involved.”

Ms Hultgren included instructions to parents on how to report their children as an underage user or disable the account. Under Facebook guidelines, users must be at least 13 to set up an account.

“We have spent the last five years teaching our students about respect, relationships and resilience,” she wrote. “It may seem insignificant to lie about your age to gain access to a social media site but where does it stop? ... Parents, you are your child's first teachers. What do you want them to learn?”

Ms Hultgren said children frequently lied about their age to set up a Facebook account but any students who did so would be expelled if discovered.

“Parents should understand that a student who contravenes the law or rule in a digital scenario may need to meet with the Principal to discuss this issue and their continued enrolment at Harlaxton," she wrote.

The state’s education officials supported the move, saying school principals should discipline students if they used technology inappropriately, whether during school or outside of school hours.

However, lawyers questioned whether schools had the authority to issue a blanket ban on social media.

"'You won't come to our school if you have a Facebook page seems to me to be extending beyond the realms of the school's ability to dictate what students can and can't do at home," Steven Troeth, a partner at Gadens Lawyers, told Fairfax media.

"But it's understandable that they might want to have some control over it because of the potential to impact on the school."

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(Agencies)

（中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑）